Grammar BookJuan Minter

Table of contents• Nacionalidades• Stem Changing Verbs• Para• Indirect Object Pronouns• Pronoun placement• Gustar• Affirmative and Negative Words• Superlatives• Reflexives• Affirmative tu commands + Irregulars + Pronoun Placement• Negative tu commands + Irregulars + Pronoun Placement• Sequencing Events• Preterite• Trigger words• -car, -gar, -zar• Deber+infinitive• Modal verbs• Present progressive• adverbios

Stem Changers

Cuesto Yo

CostamosNosotros

CuestasTú

CostáisVosotros

CuestaEl, Ella, Ud.

CuestanEllos, Ellas, Uds.

o-ue e-i e-ie u-ue

Pido Pedimos

Pides Pedís

Pide Piden

Pienso

Pensamos

Piensas

Pensáis

Piensa

Piensan

Juego

Jugamos

Juegas

Jugáis

Juega

Juegan

Ex: costar Ex: pedir Ex: pensar Ex: jugar

Boot BootBoot

0-UE (ex): El vaso cuesta viente pesos.

E-IE (ex): Yo pienso la fiesta de mi hermano.

E-I (ex): ¿Pido un postre y lo compartimos?

U-UE (ex): Yo juego el baloncesto y béisbol.

When a verb corresponds to a particular subject, it needs to be conjugated appropriately, ex: 1st, 2nd and 3rd person and their plural counterparts

Para• Means for or in order to • It is used to indicate when you want to include for

in a sentence to emphasize possesion or belonging in most cases.

• Ex: Yo preparo la fiesta para mi hermano.• This means I prepare the party for my brother.

• Ex: Quisiera un bicileta para dos.• This means I want a bicycle intended for two people to

ride (tandem).

• Vive para comer• This means he/she lives to eat.

Indirect Object Pronouns• Indirect object pronouns are placed after direct object

pronouns to indicate to whom or for whom the action is being specified.

• Tú escribas las cartas a Anna.

• Tú le escribas las cartas.

The IOP’s can be placed in 3 places which include in between the verb and subject, attached to an infinitive, and before the DOP.Ex (between verb and subject): Tú le escribas las cartas.Ex (attached to an infinitive): Ellos va a comprarte los flores.Ex (before the DOP): Yo te lo compro.

Indirect object before it is turned into a pronoun

Me Nos

Te Vos

le Les

A Anna is changed to le because the DO is directed toward Anna and so it is le. These are the IOP pronouns.

Object Pronoun Placement

Attach the

pronoun to the

infinitive

Attach the

pronoun to a

progressive tense

Attach the

pronoun to an

affirmative

command

Place the

pronoun before

the conjugated verb

Ejemplos• Me afeito.• Yo te escribo las cartas a ti.

Gustar• Gustar is used to show that someone likes

something because Gustar literally means, in the infinitive, to like.

• The Pronouns that are associated with gustar are the same as IOPs.

• Ex: Me gusta los chicharones.• This means I like chicharones.

• Ex: Me gustas tú.• This means I like you.

Me Nos

Te Vos

Le Les

Affirmative and Negative Words

Algo- something

Alguien- someone

Algún/ Alguno- some

Siempre- always

También- also

Affirmativos Negativos

Nada- nothing

Nadie- no one

Ningún/ Ninguno- none, not any

Nunca- never

Tampoco- neither, either

• Affirmatives and negatives are used to give something a negative or affirmative connotation.

• Quisiera algo de tomar.• This means I would like something to drink.

• Quisiera nada de tomar.• Obivously, this is negated from the former

sentence and becomes I would like nothing to drink.

• Las chicas quieren ningún postre.• This means the girls would not like any desert.

Superlativos• When you express adjectives in an exaggerated way, you have to drop the

final vowel and add the ending of –ísimo(a). Then you have to make it agree with gender and number to the specific noun it modifies.

• Ex: ¡El monstruo es feoísimo!• Ex: ¡Las ideas de Rosa son intersantísimas!

• When the last consonant is a C, G, or Z, spelling changes have to take place.

• C QU• Rico(a) riquísimo(a)

• Ex: El postre es riquísimo.

• G GU• Largo(a) larguísimo(a)

• Los pantalones son larguísimo.

• Z C• Feliz felicísimo(a)

• La fiesta es felicísima.

Male and singularFeminine and plural

Reflexives• Reflexives are used when you refer back to yourself like I

wash my self or to dry one’s hair; basically it is an action that you perform to yourself.

• They need to be properly formatted; this is done by taking the se off the back end of the reflexive verb. Once you do this, you can then place it in front of the verb with one of these pronouns

• Reflexives only end in se• So, (acostarse)

• Step 1: conjugate (yo) acuesto• Step 2: add appropriate reflexive pronoun

• Where can you put them? • In front of a conjugated verb• Attached to a gerund• Attached to infinitive• Attached to an affirmative command

Me Nos

Te Os

Se Se

Affirmative tú commands + Irregulars + Pronoun Placement

Affirmative Tú command

Simply drop the ‘S’

Can attach DOP to endingAffirmative Tú

• ¡Come!• This means, eat! It is an affirmative command put in tú form the s dropped.

• ¡Habla!• ¡Roba!• ¡Estudia!• Irregulares Di, Haz, Ve, Pon, Sal, Sé, Ten, Ven• Di Decir say or tell• Haz Hacer make or do• Ve Ir go• Pon Poner put• Sal Salir leave• Sé Ser be• Ten Tener have• Ven Venir come

¡Hazlo!

¡Cómelo!Pronnoun Placement

• Attach to infintive• Gerund• Before a conjugated verb• Affirmative Command

Negative tú commands + Irregulars + Pronoun Placement • Negativos

• These are used to indicate something is not.• TV DISHES• Tener No tengas• Venir No Vengas• Dar/ Decir No des/ digas• Ir No vegas• Ser No Seas• Hacer No hagas• Estar No estes• Saber No Sepas

Negative Tú command

Put in ‘yo’ form

Change to the opposite vowel

Ar eEr, ir a

Add an ‘S’

Pronoun Placement• Infinitive• Gerund• Before conjugated verb• Affirmative command

Sequencing Events• There are many sequencing words used to

indicate time and place. They include primero, entonces, luego/ después, por fin, antes de/ después de, por la mañana/ tarde/ noche, los lunes

• Ex: Primero, Alberto se afeita por la mañana.• Después de se ducha, se acuesta.• Antes de me pongo la ropa, me maquillo.• Luego, se duerme.• Por fin, me duerme.

Preterite• In Spanish, preterite is used to signify past actions

that are completed. Basically they show words like played or danced.

• Most any verb can be conjugated in this manner. All you have to do is drop the –ar, -er, -ir ending and add one of these for –ar

• If you have a verb ending in –er/-ir, drop the ending and add

É Amos

Aste asteis

ó aron

Í Imos

Iste Isteis

ió ieron

Ella camino por al parque.-She walked through the park.

Ayer escribí tres cartas.-Yesterday, I wrote three letters.

English Spanish

One day Un día

Once Una vez

Yesterday Ayer

At night A noche

A year ago Hace un año

Already Ya

Last month El mes pasado

Day before yesterday

Anteayer

For one hour Por una hora

Finally Porfin

At eight A las ocho

On February fifth El cinco de febrero

twice Dos veces

Trigger words• Trigger words are the words used toSignify that a preterite is about to take Place. In a sense, they are beacons thatHelp us identify preterites and these areOnly a few of the countless trigger wordsPossible.

Ex: Ayer, escribí tres cartas.-Yesterday I wrote three letters.

-car, -gar, -zar• Tocar, jugar, and comenzar are all irregular

preterite verbs. In fact, any verb ending in car, gar, or zar is irregular for preterites. This is almost the same as in other verbs because what happens here is that for a verb with a car, gar, or zar ending, the yo form is affected.

Toqué Tocamos

Tocaste Tocasteis

tocó Tocaron

Jugué Jugamos

Jugaste Jugasteis

Jugó Jugaron

Comencé Comenzamos

Comenzaste

Comenzasteis

comenzó comenzaron

Tocar Jugar Comenzar

Ex: Yo toqué deportes de Futbol Americano y Beisbol.- I played the sports of Football and Baseball.

Deber + infinitive• Deber + infinitive is used to show when someone

should do something. When you want to say that someone should do something, you conjugate deber appropriately then add an infinitive.

• Step 1- conjugate deber

• Step 2- add infinitiveEx: Yo debo pasar la aspiradora.

-I should vacuum.Ex: Diego debe sacar la basura.

-Diego should take out the trash.

Debo Debemos

Debes ----------

debe deben

Modal verbs• Modal verbs are verbs are the verbs used in verb

combinations. These verbs when combined make It so that the modal verb is conjuagted leaving the verb after it in the infinitive form.

• Ex: Deber: should, ought to• Desear: to desire• Necesitar: to need• Poder: can, could, might, be able to• Querer: want, would like to• Saber: know, know how to• Soler: usually, used to• Ex: Yo debo pasar la aspiradora.• I should vacuum. Debo is the modal verb in this case.

Present Progressive• Present progressives are used to show –ing endings. Present

progressives are used to show actions taking place in the present.

• To make a verb present progressive, first conjugate estar to fit with the subject. Yo estoy

• Then, take a verb, drop its ar, ir, or er ending and add the proper ing ending. Yo estoy pasando la aspiradora.

• Estar + ing• AR ending ANDO ending• ER/IR ending IENDO ending• Exception: if there is a 3 vowel conjugation, the ing ending

becomes yendo• Ex: Yo estoy creyendo come from creer which normally would be

creiendo

• Ex: Diego está quitando el polvo.

Adverbios• When modifying a verb, we use adverbs. In

spanish, this is denoted by the –mente ending. Many adverbs only require changing the ending.

• For e, l, or z endings, just add –mente• For adjectives ending in –o or –a endings, change

their gender. This means change –o to –a before adding –mente, and changing –a to –o before adding –mente.

• EX: Yo estoy paso la aspiradora cuidadosomente• Taken from the adjective cuidadosa, I vacuum carefully

• Ella está quitando el polvo lentement.• She is dusting slowly.